Apparatus for cleaning metal



y 28, 1929- c. B. HIGGINS ET AL. 1,714,668

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING METAL Filed Jan. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l a a 3 w J ZZ Z2 y 28, 1929 c. B. HIGGINS ET AL 1,714,668

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING METP Filed Jan. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 28, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFFORD B. HIGGINS, HARRY A. HIGGINS, AND JOHN TYLER, 013 DETROIT, MICHIGAN,

APPARATUS FOR Application filed January In the brass and copper industry, articles are made from thin sheet or strip metal which is annealed or otherwise heat treated, cleaned and rolled preparatory to its formation into articles. In other industries, sheet or strip material of various kinds is handled in various ways, and our invention aims to expedite the handling of material and save expense in its preparation.

The invention involved the location of a cleaning apparatus in front of a rolling instrumentality from which the sheet material is rewound for use elsewhere. The location and arrangement of the cleaning apparatus is such that the sheet material passes directly from a cleaning bath to a rinsing station and from this station direct to rolls, the cleaning and rinsing apparatus being arranged so that it may be laterally shifted relative to the rolls to insure even Wear on the rolls.

The apparatus includes a roll holder submerged or otherwise arranged so that rolls of sheet material on the holder may be subjected to the cleansing action of a cleaning solution as the sheet material is unwound and fed between rolls. Intermediate the rolls and the roll holder is a rinsing device, and means for maintaining the sheet material taut during its movement, said means including an arrangement by which the sheet material of one roll is maintained in position to be immediately fed between rolls after a preceding roll of'sheet material has been run off. This together with the roll holder, affords an economical and expeditious opera- 1 tion with a single attendant supplying the apparatus with rolls of sheet material and maintaining the sheet material at all times ready for final rolling.

The apparatus will be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus. partly broken away and partly in longitudinal section;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line IIIIII Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus, and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a sprinkler or rinser forming part of the apparatus.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 CLEANING METAL.

'2, 1926. Serial No. 78,908.

denotes a two-high rolling instrumentality having rolls 2 for reducing the thickness of a sheet of material and increasing its length.

In front of the rolling instrumentality are placed two or more roller supports 3 for a cleaning apparatus which may be shifted transverse to the-pass between the rolls 2, so that from time to time the apparatus may be adjusted relative to the rolls in order that the entire width of the rolls may be used for material reducing purposes. This will prevent grooving or excessive wear on any particular part at one place on the rolls more than at-another.

The apparatus is in the form of an oblong tank having a bottom wall 4, end walls 5 and 6, side walls 7 and a transverse vertical par tition 8. The bottom wall 4 rests on the rollersupports 3 and the partition 8 cooperates with the side and end walls in providing a cleaning compartment 9 and a reservoir or rinsing compartment. The walls of both of these compartments, particularly the compartment 9, are lined with an acid resisting material 11 for the reason that the compartment 9 is adapted to contain sulphuric acid or a suitable cleansing solution 12. The compartment 10 is adapted to contain water, and such cleaning solution as is washed from sheet metal emerging from the cleaning bath. The cleaning solution 12 is renewed from time to time by bailing out the old solution and pouring in the new, and the water compartment or reservoir 10 has an overflow or drain connection 13, while the supply of water is maintained for rinsing purposes by a sprinkling device attached to the side of the tank and extending over the compartment or reservoir. The sprinkling or rinsing device includes brackets 14 attached to the side of the tank for supporting vertical pipes 15, a connecting pipe 16. a control valve 17, and a water supply connection 18. The upper ends of the vertical pipes 15 are provided with lateral branches 19 perforated, as at 20, to provide bottom sprinklers or reservoirs. The vertical pipes also support goose necks 21 for swiveled perforated top sprinklers or rinsrs 22, which are swiveled so as to be readily swung to one side and permit of a strip or sheet of material being placed over the bottom sprinklers and eventually sandwiched between the bottom and top sprinklers, so that water will be forcibly projected on both sides of the strip of material to thoroughly remove all acid or other cleansing solution that may be thereon.

In advance of the partition 8 and in advance of the end wall 6 are scraping devices which also serve as holders or tension devices for a strip of sheet material preparatory to rolling the strip of material. The scraping devices are identical in construction and it is thought necessary only to describe the detail construction of one of said devices, which is best shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

'Mounted on the upper edges of the side walls 7 are angle brackets 23 and attached to said angle brackets are the side projections 24 of vertically disposed guides 25 which project inwardly from the side walls of the tank. The confronting faces of the guides 25 have vertical grooves for the ends of scraper or wiper members 26 and 27 made of a composite acid resisting material. To lend weight to these scrapers or wiper members a side wall of each member has a strip of acid resisting metal 28 attached thereto.

Adjacent the brackets 23 is another set of brackets 29 and attached to the brackets 23 and 29 are guide supports 30 supporting transverse scraper or wiper members 31 forming a slot through which the scraper members 26 and 27 are adapted to drop, one at a time, on to a platform 32 suitably supported between the side walls 7, below the transverse members 31 and above the level of the liquid bath in either compartment of the tank. The transverse scraper or w per members serve as tensioning means for the strip material and together with the scraper members 26 and 27 are adapted to remove any cleaning solution that may remain on strips of material passing over the members 31 and under the members 26. 1

In the compartment 9 of the tank, adjacent the end wall 5 is anchored a roll holder comprising a rack 33 having inclined ways for the pintles or spindles 34 of rolls or spools 35 and 36 of thin sheet material. In the rack 33 are guides 37 for properly centering the rolls 35 and 36 and at the lower end of the rack are hook shaped members 38 for holding the spindles 34 of the roll 35 so that said roll may be unwound by having the outer end of the sheet of material extend upwardly out of the cleaning solution, over the scraper and wiper members and under the scraper members 26 to the rolls 2. The strip of material passes between the sprinklers 19 and 22 and after the cleaning solution is washed from the strip of material the water is scraped ofl by the scraping or wiping device close to the rolls 2. a

The rack 33 has its sidesprovided with discharge arms 39 and release arms 40, the

.latter engaging the discharge arms 39 and adapted" to actuate the same when the release arms 40 are actuated by a hand lever 41. The release arms 40 have hook shaped ends 42 adapted to hold the spindles 34 of the roll 36 and when the discharge arms 39 are and 27 as best shown in Fig. 1, it being held by said scraper members so as to be in position for an attendant of the apparatus to place the end of the material in the pass of the rolls 2. \Vhen the strip of material is fully unwound from the roll 35 and passes from beneath the scraper members 26, these members which have been supported by grav ity on the strip of material, drop on to the platforms 32, thus allowing the scraper mem bers 27 to descend and assume the same position. formerly occupied by the scraper members 26. The scraper members 26 are then removed from the platforms 32 and again placed in the guides 25 with the end of the newsheet of material in position, as shown in Fig. 1. Of course this is accomplished when the swiveled sprinklers 22 are swung out of the road so that the new sheet of material may assume an active position when the roll 35 is empty.

The roll holder 33 is anchoredrelative to the end wall 5 by a tie rod 43 and the spacing member 44.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the supply rolls are immersed in the cleaning solution 9 and that as a strip of material from an active roll emerges from the cleaning bath, the cleaning solution is removed, the strip of material washed and the washing liquid removed from the strip of material, so that by the time it reaches the flattening rolls 2 the strip of material has been thoroughly I cleaned.

We attach considerable importance to the location of the tank in front of the rolls 2 so that the strip of material may be fed directly into the rolls and thus avoid rewinding of the strip of material, after leaving the cleansing bath, preparatoryto being flattened by the rolls 2. Many rewinding operations are saved by my apparatus when compared to the present practice, and it is obvious that considerable time is saved by at all times having a roll of sheet material in.

reserve to immediately become active when an active roll has been emptied of its sheet material. It will also be noted that a process is involved wherein a spool of sheet material is subjected to a cleaning bat-h; then scraped or wiped; washed; again scraped or wiped, and thenflattened by a rolling. instrumenpended claims.

\Vhat we claim is 1. An apparatus of the type described, comprising a tank having a cleaning solution therein in which active. and inactive rolls of sheet material are maintained with said rolls adapted to be successively unwound, a washer over said tank, and scraping devices at each end of said washer with one of said devices adapted to remove the cleaning solution from the strip of material device to remove the washing liquid from the strip o'fmaterial. said scraping devicesincluding members adapted for holding a reserve strip of material in position to assume an active position relative to said washer.

2. An apparatus of the type described, comprising a tank having a cleaning solution therein in which active and inactive rolls of sheet material are maintained, with said rolls adapted to be successively unwound, a washer associated with said tank, scraping devices at each end of said washer, with one of said devices adapted to remove the cleaning solution from the strip of material and the other scraping device to remove the liquid from the strip of material, and aroll holder in said tank for supporting rolls of sheet material therein to be attacked by the cleaning solution, with one of said rolls sup ported in a reserve position to assume an active position when an active roll is empty.

An apparatus of the type described comprising flattening rolls, a tank in front of said rolls, means supporting said tank for lateral adjustment relative to said rolls, means in said tank for supporting a roll of sheet material therein so that the sheet material may be subjected to a cleaning solution placed in said tank, a washer between said flattening rolls and said rolls of sheet material, and scraping devices adjacent said washer so that said scraping devices may cooperate with said washer in cleaning the sheet material preparatory to entering said flattening rolls, said scraping devices being adapted for holding a reserve strip of sheet material in a superposed inactive position to assume an active position relative to said washer.

and the other scraping- 4. An apparatus adapted to clean, wash and wipe strips of sheet material, said apparatus including a cleaning bath from which emerge the strips of sheet material, wipers maintaining the strips of sheet material substantially parallel to each other with one strip of material in an active position and the other strip of material in a reserved position, said wipers being arranged to automatically-place the reserve strip of material in an active position, and a washer for the active s trip of material.

5. An apparatus adapted to clean, wash and wipe strips of sheet material, said apparatus including a cleaning bath from which emerge the strips of sheet material, wipers maintaining the strips of sheet material substantially parallel to each other with one stripof material in an active position and the other strip of material in a reserved position, said wipers being arranged to automatically place the reserve strip of material in an active osition, and a washer for the active strip of material, the washer being arranged between the wipers and including top and bottom sprinklers with the top springlers movable to provide clearance for the reserve strip of material when assuming an active position.

6. An apparatus as called for in claim 4, wherein said wipers include stationary members and superposed shiftable members adapted to be supported by anactive strip of material on said stationary members and with the reserve strip of material between said shittable members.

7. An apparatus of the type described comprising a cleaning bath in which rolls of sheet material are placed and adapted to have the sheet material unwound therefrom to emerge from the bath in parallel lines of travel, wipers maintaining strips of said sheet material substantially parallel to each other with one strip of material in an active position and the other strip in a reserve position, each wiper including stationary members and shiftable members, with the shiftable members supported by one strip of material and with the other strip of material between the shiftable members.

8 An apparatusas called for in claim 7,

and means between said wipers adapted to subject the sheet material to a washing action. c i

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

HARRY A. HIGGINS. CLIFFORD B. HIGGINS. JOHN TYLER. 

